BarbaraWalters, born in 1931, American television-broadcast journalist, known for her ability to arrange interviews with a variety of public figures and for her skill in asking frank questions and obtaining candid answers.

In 1961 Walters became a writer and reporter for the NBC television show “Today”; she was a regular panel member on the show from 1963 to 1974, when she became cohost.

In 1975 Walters was named broadcaster of the year by the International Radio and TV Society.

Walters left the show to begin a new phase in her career at the network.

Walters is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from Sarah Lawrence, her alma mater, as well as Ohio State University, Temple University, Marymount College, Wheaton College, Hofstra University and Ben-Gurion University in Jerusalem.

Walters is the daughter of the famed entertainment impresario Lou Walters and has one daughter.

Although BarbaraWalters would later downplay her relationship with the feminist movement, her early career is marked by a number of moves that were in part responsible for breaking down the all-male facade of U.S. network news.

Walters began her career in broadcast journalism as a writer for CBS News.

According to Walters, she was not allowed to write for the male correspondents or to ask questions in "male-dominated" areas such as economics or politics, and she was forbidden to interview guests on-camera until all of the men on Today had finished asking questions.

The View is advertised by Walters as "Four women, lots of opinions, and me—Barbara Walters." Though one suspects that Walters's separation of herself from the "four women" is not accidental, on The View she is looser and more relaxed—called "B.W." by her colleagues and allowing herself to be teased and, occasionally, put on the spot.

BarbaraWalters will be remembered for many "firsts" and "onlys." Her critics blame her for bringing too much entertainment into the news, but, for better or worse, she has been pivotal in creating the face of television news in the 1990s, a blend of fact, entertainment, and personality.

Walters later became a veteran 20 year co-host of ABC News Magazine 20/20, again paired with Downs in a partnership that had good on air chemistry, and she excelled in interviews of newsmakers.

Walters told The New York Times that she's become uncomfortable with the pressure to find interview subjects appealing to young people who are less interested in news.

Walters was upset in 2001 when ABC network executives moved "20/20" from its usual Friday perch to Wednesdays, a change that proved short-lived.

Walters was co-host of NBC's "Today" show for 13 years before joining ABC News in 1976, where she was the first woman to anchor a network evening newscast.

www.cnn.com /2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/26/tv.abc.walters.ap (481 words)

Barbara Walters - TV(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)

BarbaraWalters is daughter to Dena Seletsky, and the Late Louis Edward Walters who dedicated his career to entertainment Walters graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, and wrote for NBC’s “TheToday Show”.

Walter’s work is best described as “personality journalism.” She has intereviewed many political figures inlcuding Cuba’s Fidel Castro, Egypt’s Anwar Sadat, Israel’s Menachem Begin, Russia's Boris Yeltsin, China's Jiang Zemin, the UK's Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, and the “King Of Pop” Micheal Jackson.

Walters has opened the doors for women journalists by earning important co-anchor and anchor positions during her carreer with NBC and ABC.

The View, BarbaraWalters is a veteran broadcaster known especially for her interviews with world leaders and A-list celebrities.

Although her stint as a news co-anchor was a flop, Walters became one of the most high-profile women in television broadcasting, a pioneer in a field dominated by men.

The BarbaraWalters Specials, in which she interviewed personalities from politics and entertainment, including: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat; Monica Lewinsky; Fidel Castro; Demi Moore; George Clooney; and the Dalai Lama.

The BarbaraWalters Specials are continuously the top-rated specials of the year and have included such legends as Sir Laurence Olivier, Bing Crosby, John Wayne, Bette Davis and Audrey Hepburn.

Walters and The View co-hosts were awarded the Safe Horizon Champion Award for their continued efforts of raising awareness of issues of importance to girls and women and for serving as confident, compassionate role models dedicated to excellence of the battle against violence and victimization.

Walters is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from Ohio State University, Temple University, Marymount College, Wheaton College, Hofstra University, and Ben-Gurion University in Jerusalem.

Over the years, Walters has received national recognition for her work and has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

Walters’ numerous and timely interviews — which appear regularly on the weekly newsmagazine 20/20, The BarbaraWalters Specials and, most recently, her ABC Daytime program The View — read like a Who’s Who of newsmakers.

The Barbara Walters Special(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)

Barbara really underscored her role as a fad and trend-monger for ABC and these specials being thinly-veiled publicity stunts for whoever is the current hot celebrity, when she had to interview Mr.

Barbara probably hopped the Harley over the shark some time ago and to be honest I haven't watched her puff pieces in some time.

BarbaraWalters has no business to even remotely CLAIM to be a respectable journalist doing "hard news" on 20/20 with piffle like this under her belt.

www.jumptheshark.com /b/barbarawalters.htm (1698 words)

Barbara Walters St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture - Find Articles(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)

In her yearbook from Sarah Lawrence College, Walters is pictured in a cartoon as an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand, but she was forced to face the world early.

When Walters went to work as the first woman to anchor the evening news, she encountered ridicule, dismissive attitudes, and outright hostility.

The View is advertised by Walters as "Four women, lots of opinions, and me--Barbara Walters." Though one suspects that Walters's separation of herself from the "four women" is not accidental, on The View she is looser and more relaxed--called "B.W." by her colleagues and allowing herself to be teased and, occasionally, put on the spot.

Walters: We're continuing our discussion on so - called smart drugs or smart drinks with a man who sells them and takes them, with a psychiatrist and with a doctor who is head of the Alzheimer's unit at NIMH.

And I think that's the important part, that people need to know that if they are going to take something in our research center, that it is to validate the efficacy of the substance, and we're not promoting that it actually does have beneficial effects.

Walters: Sunday, on This Week with David Brinkley, the economy, unemployment and the '92 election.

Creator BarbaraWalters said she was "betrayed" by Star Jones Reynolds' surprise on-air announcement of her exit from the daytime talk show Tuesday.

Still, Walters said she was taken by complete surprise when Reynolds announced her departure after the first commercial break on Tuesday.

Walters said ABC network chiefs had decided last fall not to renew Reynolds' contract because its research showed that Reynolds' dramatic weight loss and 2004 wedding to banker Al Reynolds had turned off viewers.

BarbaraWalters is celebrating three decades of primetime interviews with a lighthearted, poignant -- and often hysterical -- two-part program, "The BarbaraWalters Special: 30 Mistakes in 30 Years." Walters...

BarbaraWalters recalls some of the boo-boos she has made over the last 30 years in an ABC special at 10 tonight and tomorrow night.